Texas roadways have the greatest average speed limits in the nation and is also home to the fastest posted speed limit on a single highway. When Texas decided to open Highway 130, a 41-mile stretch of highway between San Antonio and Austin, with an 85 mph speed limit, safety advocates raised concerns about the risk of increased high-speed fatalities. After all, data has shown that traffic fatalities tend to go up when speed limits are increased.
Dangers of Speeding
Speeding is one of the most common factors in car accidents. Speeding negatively impacts one’s ability to drive safely in the following ways:
- Reduces driver’s ability to steer safely around curves or objects in the road
- Increases the risk of losing control of the vehicle
- Extends braking distance
- Increases the distance a vehicle travels during the driver’s reaction time
High-speed is a factor in roughly 13 percent of all crashes and one-third of all fatal motor vehicle accidents. Despite the well-known safety risks, speeding continues to be the most prevalent form of aggressive driving. According to 2015 survey by the American Automobile Association (AAA), nearly half of all respondents exceeded the speed limit by 15 mph on a highway or by 10 mph on inner-city or residential roads in the past month.
How Speeding Impacts Accident Severity
Not only does speeding increase your chances of being involved in a crash, it can make the consequences of an accident more severe. The greater the mass (weight) and velocity (speed) of a vehicle, the greater the forces are in a crash. In other words, higher speeds increase crash energy, which means more severe injuries for passengers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) considers a crash to be speed-related if either the driver was issued a traffic citation for speeding or law enforcement indicated that excessive speeding, racing, or driving too fast for the conditions was a contributing factor in an accident. According to NHTSA, 9,557 people died in speeding-related accidents in 2015.
When speeding and alcohol are combined, the consequences can be devastating. Alcohol impairment is often closely associated with speeding-related crashes. In fact, 41 percent of speeding drivers in fatal crashes in 2014 had blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher, compared to just 17 percent of non-speeding drivers involved in fatal crashes.
Contact an Experience Houston Car Accident Lawyer
Speeding is a violation of the law and puts the lives of everyone else on the road in danger. If you have been injured in a high-speed accident, you should consider speaking with a Houston personal injury lawyer right away. If you can prove that another driver’s negligence caused your injuries, you may be to recover past and future:
- Medical costs
- Loss of earning capacity
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Physical pain
- Mental anguish
The Houston car accident lawyers at The Krist Law Firm, P.C. have decades of experience handling virtually every type of personal injury cases, including car, truck, bus, and motorcycle accidents. We are dedicated to providing sophisticated and knowledgeable representation from investigation to trial, with the goal of obtaining the maximum compensation possible for our clients.
Contact us today at (281) 283-8500 for a free case evaluation.